O.U.R Golden Threads

A major focus of OUR Curriculum is to empower our pupils to become effective learners and using our underpinning values to help develop a pupil’s character.

We believe that developing ‘character’ goes hand-in-hand with high academic aspirations. We support our students to become capable, curious, confident and caring learners who will be able to contribute positively to our ever changing community. Character can be caught and taught; caught in the everyday positive climate and ethos of our school and taught by inspirational teachers and support staff.

At Olveston CEVC School we recognise that character is a valuable asset; we will make it our mission to help children to nurture it, look after it and be proud of it.

Character Caught – Research demonstrates that character development is most effective when schools live their values. Character is ‘caught’ through our climate and ethos, the values we have, the tone we set; in short our expectations. It’s in the way we model our own behaviours, the respect we show and the caring community we are part of and that we all foster. It’s also in the relationships we build, our humour, passion and enthusiasm for all that we do.

Character Taught – This is when we model and develop the children’s knowledge around personal development. This can be through our PSHE (Persona, Social and Health Education) and RSE (Relationship and Sex Education.) or more broadly through the way our curriculum has been developed and the way we plan to explicitly develop and nurture character.

It’s also about all teaching and support staff sharing the responsibility to promote and develop our Character Curriculum routinely and consistently.

One of ways we foster character development is through learning Gems – the gem system helps so make abstract concepts more tangible and concrete for the children. Children are empowered to develop a range of character attributes which are represented by a selection of gems, which are collectively referred to as ‘Gem Powers’. There is a strong link between the characteristics represented by the gems and our school values.

You can learn more about our Gem powers here.

Sustainability at Olveston School enables children to develop knowledge, skills, values and motivations for action, allowing them to maintain their own wellbeing, that of their community and the planet – in an increasingly interconnected world. Sustainability involves everyone working together in small ways to achieve something huge. It’s both an individual and a team effort – and that fits beautifully into OUR curriculum. We want our children to leave understanding that sustainability isn’t a set of behaviours – it’s a state of mind. In order to learn how to truly share the planet in a sustainable way, we need to teach values as well as skills. For example, UN Sustainable Development Target 4.7 for education states:

“By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development”

Key among the ‘knowledge and skills’ the UN highlights in this target are “sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and nonviolence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”.

Therefore it is clear to see how sustainability is interconnected with our other golden threads. In addition to our school values we teach compassion, empathy and open-mindedness which help us work together to build a sustainable future. As with the Diversity and Justice strand, there is a question about sustainability for the children to explore during their topic lessons. Other aspects of this strand are discussed during PSHE lessons when ‘big questions’ are discussed e.g. “Why should we care about the environment?”; “Can one person change the world?”; “How do I teach other people to be responsible?”

Discussions about bias, diversity, discrimination, and social justice build on the fact that young children have a keen awareness of and passion for fairness. They demand right over wrong, just over unjust. And they notice differences without apology or discomfort. Through our Diversity and Justice strand, our pupils develop an understanding of equality and human rights at an age appropriate level. This knowledge helps them to understand how they should be treated and how to treat others. As a result of the trusted relationships that pupils have with their teachers they are able to challenge, discuss, explore, and form lasting values, morals, and opinions.

We believe that when children are taught to respect diversity, they gain knowledge and understanding that can help them to improve relationships, tackle prejudice, and make positive decisions throughout their lives. In today’s challenging and diverse society, it is our responsibility to instil our children with positive and open-minded attitudes. Within each topic there is a question about diversity and justice for the children to explore and other aspects of this strand are discussed during lessons when ‘big questions’ are discussed e.g. “Would the world be a better place if we all looked the same?; “Can you tell if a person is good or bad by the way they look?”; “Would the world be a fairer place if we all did the same?”

At Olveston CEVC Primary School we enable to give all children opportunities to think about themselves, others, beauty and creation and the world beyond. We encourage children to become independent thinkers and wonderers. We model an environment of inclusion and respect. We allow children the space, process, imagination, relationships, intimacy and trust to be spiritual beings. Our school is committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We very much see mental health and spiritual well-being running hand in hand. We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support.  Therefore we:

• help children to understand their emotions and feelings better – developing an understanding of self
• give children space to reflect                          
• help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries
• help children socially to form and maintain relationships – developing an understanding of others
• promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count
• encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’
• help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks
• provide wider curriculum opportunities so children can find their .sparkle’
• develop the children’s ability to ask big questions.
• give children opportunities to engage with their faith